Teddy Clark
CHATTANOOGA, TN — The Smokies were looking to bounce back after dropping a series to Pensacola in the week prior. The Smokies added OF Kane Kepley and LHP Jackson Brockett from High-A South Bend, along with INF Dom Krupinski from Low-A Myrtle Beach. While the Smokies did add three players they also lost three players LHP Evan Taylor, RHP Tyler Santanna, and INF Ed Howard were all called up to Triple-A Iowa Cubs this week.
The Smokies offense looked more like itself last week as in the series they would leave the yard a staggering 13 times, which was tied for the most in Double-A. Some of the new faces for the Smokies found their stride this past week with Miguel Useche batting .300, with two doubles and two home runs, and Dom Krupinski hitting two home runs in his debut.
Game 1: New Kid on the Block
The Smokies opened the series in Chattanooga ready to play, shutting out the Lookouts 4-0 in the first of two seven-inning games. They struck early, scoring twice in the second inning on a Miguel Useche home run and a throwing error that let Ariel Armas cross the plate. Newcomer Dom Krupinski did the rest, going deep twice, once in the fourth and again in the seventh, to close out the scoring at 4-0.
Both teams leaned on just two pitchers, with each starter working five innings but to very different effect. Lookouts starter Javi Rivera allowed six hits, three runs, and struck out four over his five innings. Smokies starter Dawson Netz was far sharper, allowing just one hit and no runs while also striking out four. Will Cannon took over for the Lookouts and turned in two solid innings, surrendering only a Krupinski home run and nothing else while striking out three. Tyler Ras closed it out for the Smokies with two hitless, scoreless innings and four strikeouts.
Game 2: Smokies Are Hot
Game two followed a similar script, with the Smokies jumping out to a 3-0 lead in the second inning. Alex Ramirez drew a bases-loaded walk to score Edgar Alvarez, and Andy Garriola followed with a two-run single to make it 3-0. The Smokies didn't score again until the fifth, when Miguel Useche crushed one to center to make it 4-0. The Lookouts mounted a seventh-inning rally with the bases loaded but could only push across one run, and the game finished 4-1.
Pitching depth was the story here, as both teams used three arms instead of two. Lookouts starter Kevin Abel lasted just one and two-thirds innings before being pulled after allowing three runs. Jose Montero steadied things from there, working three and one-third innings and allowing only a fifth-inning home run while striking out four. Brody Jessee closed it out with two scoreless innings and two strikeouts.
For the Smokies, Tyler Schlaffer was outstanding, throwing four scoreless innings on just two hits with four strikeouts. Grayson Moore followed with two more scoreless innings and three strikeouts of his own. Marino Santy worked the final frame, allowing one run and striking out one.
Game 3: Smokies Stay Swinging
The Smokies struck first again, with a second-inning Miguel Useche home run, but this time the Lookouts answered immediately, plating three in the third. Jay Allen got it started with a two-run homer to give the Lookouts their first lead of the series, and Carlos Sanchez followed with a solo shot to make it 3-1. The lead didn't last: the Smokies put up a three-run fifth of their own, capped by a two-out, two-run Drew Bowser blast over the left-field wall that put them back on top 4-3. From there the Smokies pulled away, with an Edgar Alvarez solo homer in the seventh and an Andy Garriola two-run shot in the eighth sealing a 7-3 win.
Both clubs used three pitchers. Lookouts starter Ryan Garcia went five innings, allowing four runs on four hits with three strikeouts, and Taylor Floyd and Cody Adcock combined for the final four innings, giving up three runs on six hits with three strikeouts between them.
Smokies starter Brody McCullough worked five innings, allowing three runs on three hits with two strikeouts. Connor Schultz was dominant in relief, striking out six over three scoreless innings, and Kenyi Perez closed it out with a scoreless ninth and a strikeout.
Game 4: The Lookouts Get One Back
Game four had a different feel from the start. The Lookouts got on the board early with a Carlos Sanchez RBI double and a Rueben Ibarra RBI single to lead 2-0, then extended it with a Jay Allen homer in the third and a three-run Ibarra blast in the fifth to make it 6-0 before the Smokies had scored. The Smokies finally got going in the sixth, plating three runs on a bases-loaded walk that scored Andy Garriola, an Edgar Alvarez RBI groundout, and a throwing error that brought home Ariel Armas, cutting the deficit to 6-3.
The Lookouts answered immediately, doubling their opponent's output in the bottom of the sixth. Kien Vu opened with an RBI single, Jay Allen followed with his second homer of the game to score himself and Johnny Ascanio, Rueben Ibarra added a two-run knock, and Yerlin Confidan capped the inning with an RBI triple to make it 12-3. Confidan later added a sacrifice fly to push the lead to double digits. Drew Bowser tried to spark a Smokies response with a solo homer to make it 13-4, but that was the final run of the game.
Despite scoring the most runs of any team in the series, the Lookouts also used the most pitchers in a single game, four. Starter Nestor Lorant was excellent, throwing three shutout innings with five strikeouts on just two hits allowed. Nate Peterson struggled with control in relief, walking five and allowing three runs over two and two-thirds innings, but Steffon Moore steadied things with a scoreless inning and a third. Jacob Edwards closed with two innings, allowing one run on one hit.
The Smokies stuck with three pitchers. Starter Luis Martinez-Gomez lasted four and two-thirds innings, allowing six runs on six hits with five strikeouts. Erian Rodriguez followed with two and one-third innings, also allowing six runs, striking out one. Frankie Scalzo Jr. finished the game, allowing one run on two hits with two strikeouts.
Game 5: Smokies Take the Series
Looking for payback after a nine-run loss the day before, the Smokies got it, scoring in every inning but the first and fifth. Ariel Armas carried the offense early, homering in the second and doubling home a run in the third to make it 2-0 by himself. Newcomer Kane Kepley added a two-run homer in the fourth, and Armas tacked on another RBI single to make it 5-0. Armas struck again in the sixth with an RBI single, pushing the lead to six. The Lookouts clawed back three runs in the sixth on a bases-loaded walk that scored Johnny Ascanio and a two-run Rueben Ibarra single, making it 6-3. But Kepley answered with an RBI double in the seventh, and Alex Madera drove in a run with an eighth-inning sacrifice fly. The Lookouts got one more run on a Carter Graham homer in the eighth, but Andy Garriola answered right back with a home run of his own to make it 9-4, the Smokies' 20th hit of the game.
The Lookouts again used four pitchers. Starter Beau Blanchard lasted three and one-third innings, allowing three runs on seven hits, before the bullpen trio of Bryce Hubbart, Will Cannon, and Brody Jessee combined for five and two-thirds innings, allowing six runs on 13 hits.
Smokies starter Brooks Caple was dominant, throwing four no-hit innings and retiring seven straight batters at one point. Newcomer Jackson Brockett followed with three innings, allowing three runs on three hits with four strikeouts. Tyler Ras closed the final two innings, allowing just one run on one hit.
Game 6: Lookouts Take One for the Road
The series finale followed the pattern of the week, with the Smokies scoring first on a Miguel Useche sacrifice fly in the first and extending the lead with a Carter Trice homer in the fourth. The Lookouts got one back in the fifth on a throwing error that scored Yerlin Confidan. The Smokies tried to pull away in the seventh with a trio of RBI singles from Karson Simas, Kane Kepley, and Andy Garriola, making it 5-1. The Lookouts had other plans: a Peyton Stovall sacrifice fly and a Kien Vu two-run homer tied the game at 5-4, and the score held until the ninth. In the ninth, Kien Vu was hit by a pitch and Carlos Sanchez walked to load the bases, then Jay Allen delivered a game-winning RBI single to score Cade Hunter and give the Lookouts a 6-5 victory.
The Lookouts needed just three pitchers. Starter Luke Hayden worked four innings, allowing two runs on two hits with six strikeouts. Jose Montero followed with three innings, allowing three runs on four hits with four strikeouts, and Cody Adcock earned the win by closing the final two innings, allowing just one hit and striking out four.
Smokies starter Kevin Valdez carried the load for six innings, allowing one run on three hits with six strikeouts. The bullpen trio of Marino Santy, Grayson Moore, and Frankie Scalzo Jr. combined for two and one-third innings, allowing five runs on six hits with four strikeouts.
Wrap Up
The Smokies took the series four games to two, riding a lineup that seemed to score in bunches every single night, Miguel Useche, Ariel Armas, and Andy Garriola all came up big multiple times, with Armas' four-RBI eruption in game five of the series, standing out as the offensive highlight of the week. The Lookouts had their moments, most notably a 13-4 rout behind Jay Allen and Rueben Ibarra in Game four and a walk-off win in the finale capped by Allen's ninth-inning RBI single, but couldn't string together the consistency the Smokies showed on both sides of the ball. Ultimately, Knoxville’s pitching depth was the difference, arms like Dawson Netz, Brooks Caple, and Connor Schultz turned in shutdown outings throughout the series, while the Lookouts bullpen, which was stretched to four pitchers in three different games, struggled to keep the Smokies' bats in check.
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